Hello. This is my first time blogging so please be patient with me. This post is long to fill in initial details.

I think it may be helpful for others for me to share what I've gone through and continue to experience.

So I'll start at the basics. I'm 42, married, a mom of a 16 year old and currently not working. Overweight for over 20 years. I'm about five feet eight inches tall and began this weighing 256 pounds. I'm a moderatly active person. I dont work out alot but I'm always trying to keep busy. Genetically I come from a long line of heavy women who died young. My mother was over 300 lbs when she died at age 56 of a massive heart attack and my grandmother was over 350 lbs when she died around age 60 of a stroke. I want to outlast them.

My Neurologist mentioned the lap band to me initially because I've had almost daily migraines for about 6 months to a year. I have some brain damage per the MRI that was done and sometimes I forget things, i misspell alot and repeat words for no reason. The neurologist suggested that the damaged areas may be affected by the pressure of my being overweight since most of my headaches are triggered by bending or movment. He suggested I get rid of the extra weight as quickly as possible.

Having been a lifetime dieter and never getting off more than about 40 pounds on my best diet he suggested something more drastic. Lap band. I'd actually researched the band a bit on my own but due to the cost hadnt pursued it.

Oddly enough around the same time the doctor mentioned the procedure to me my insurance sent out a letter saying they were approving lap bands under certain medical considerations.

It seemed meant to be. I signed up for the online seminar and made an appointment with Dr. Longoria. With my neurological difficulties, and sleep apnea I was an ideal candidate. Things moved along after that first visit and within about two months I was scheduled. I lost 10 pounds on the preop diet, though I did enjoy a few bites of some of my favorite foods the last week. Who knows if I'll ever be able to eat them again?

I've never had any surgical procedures before so the thought of the surgery itself made me nervous. Thank God for my Husband and my Daughter. My husband was there with me before the procedure and both of them were there afterwards. I had opted to stay overnight at the hospital, which I would seriously recommend to anyone having this done. St. Davids Hospital in Austin Texas was wonderful. They have a group trained for bariatric procedures and you can tell. My nurse Kim was great and explained everything in detail.

I wont say it was a breeze. It was surgery. There is major soreness. No matter how you lie down its uncomfortable. Your belly is full of air from the procedure so youre bloated and your organs feel like theyre flopping around. It actually felt best to get up and take short walks.

The day after surgery I had the barium leak test at the hospital. Yuck... but the veggie broth I was allowed to have after was the best I'd ever had. :tongue2: I was allowed to go home a few hours later where I spent the night resting inclined on pillows in bed after taking the pain killer the doctor had prescribed for me. I dont normally like to take strong medicine but I knew I needed to rest. I did manage to sip some water and a little orange gatorade along with about 4 tiny bites of jello.

My sweet daughter prepared my room for me with fresh bedding on the bed and a vaccuumed floor and my hubby has kept our 4 dogs out of the room.

Day 2 was rough. I woke up nauseated. It lasted pretty much all day. I didnt vomit but I think it was through sheer force of will that I didnt. I started the day sipping white grape juice. It helped while I was sipping but as soon as my half cup was gone the nausea hit again. I also started passing alot of gas. I was gurgling constantly. My bloated stomach was going down though. I got up for short walks every few hours. I even ventured down the stairs with my hubbys help for a while. I sipped some tea while we watched a little tv together but the nausea got to me after I tried to eat some jello so I ended up back in bed pretty quickly. It was the nausea that led me to find this site. I had to know if I was feeling "normal" nausea... so I Googled. It was great to see I wasnt alone. I took my pain medicine and went to sleep, this time on my side, which is my normal sleep position. I held a pillow lightly to my belly all night and sort of proped my stomach on it while I slept.

This is the afternoon of Day 3 and I'm feeling so much better than Day 2.

So far today I've been able to take in about half a cup of cranberry juice, at breakfast time, half a cup of strawberry bannana v8 fusion around 11, then a quarter of a cup of HEB peach yogurt drink with my meds mixed in at 1pm. Typing the list makes me think it looks like a lot but its really not much. I've also had sips of water in between. I have found that I prefer it to be iced and cold.

I've rested most of the day with one small chore of putting away a basket of clean laundry. I concentrated on not bending over far or stretching my stomach too much. Walking around the room feels good.

I was feeling so good I decided to start this blog. Now I'm feeling a bit tired though so I'm going to rest a bit.

More tomorrow.

congratulations and thankyou for sharing your story. It is good to know what is ahead, i am scheduled for 9/16. I know you did the right thing by saving your life, keep up the good work and keep us all posted!!!!

congrats! Im proud of you!Keep the faith. Im six weeks out and down 30 pounds!!!!! Its the best thing thats ever happened to me!!!

yes thanks for sharing i am getting banded 8/12 and getting excited !

yes thank you so much for sharing, this is what I need to hear thank you thank you